Dictionary

mantelshelf en · NOUN

Etymology

From mantel + shelf.

Meanings

1. A shelf above a fireplace.
   • Sepia Delft tiles surrounded the fireplace, their crudely drawn Biblical scenes in faded cyclamen blending with the pinkish pine, while above them, instead of a mantelshelf, there was an archway high enough to form a balcony with slender balusters and a tapestry-hung wall behind. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
   • On the mantelshelf either side of the clock stood two lacquered bronzes of horse and tamer. 1998, Derek Beaven, chapter 9, in Acts of Mutiny, London: Fourth Estate, →ISBN, part 1 (Motion), page 34:
2. Synonym of mantel (“a type of maneuver to surmount a ledge”).

Forms

Relateds

mantelpiece

Synonyms

mantel